Interactive account management system and method

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the invention are directed to a computer-implemented interactive account management system operated in cooperation with a financial institution on behalf of multiple account holders. The interactive account management system may include a financial networking engine implemented by a processor for defining a financial network for each account holder and for identifying each member of an account holder financial network based on stored account information and account holder input. The system may additionally include interactive processing components for processing information to provide collaborative interaction between the members of the account holder financial network defined by the financial networking engine and user interface presentation tools for displaying financial guidance and collaborative interaction interfaces and inviting active participation from the financial network members.

CROSS-REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of patent application Ser. No.13/430,030 filed on Mar. 26, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,321,310, which isa continuation of application Ser. No. 12/388,801 filed on Feb. 19,2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,160,941, which is a continuation-in-part ofapplication Ser. No. 11/952,457 filed on Dec. 7, 2007, all of which arefully incorporated herein by reference. This application also is relatedto commonly owned patent application Ser. No. 12/388,730, filed on Feb.19, 2009, which is also incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the invention are related generally to systems andmethods for improving an interactive customer financial accountexperience within a customer financial network and in particular toimproving customer accessibility to financial account information tofacilitate achievement of financial goals.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years, consumers have drastically reduced the use of cashpayment for goods and services and have more frequently relied on creditcards, debit cards, stored value cards, or electronic transfer of fundsassociated with a financial account to facilitate financialtransactions. Due to the electronic nature of payment, financialinstitutions are able to track consumer behaviors involved in thesetransactions.

Financial institutions frequently provide multiple types of products,such as credit cards, debit cards, mortgages, brokerage accounts, andother types of accounts and may offer a number of different optionsrelated to the management of each account. Typically, account holdersare informed of these options upon opening an account or through specialoffers that may be made periodically.

Many accounts can be accessed by more than one account holder. Forexample, multiple account holders may be authorized for use of a singlechecking account or a credit card account. Multiple account holders mayhave access both to personal credit accounts and small business creditaccounts. Furthermore, mortgages are often held by two customers. Insome instances, such as with a credit card account, a main accountholder may have control over the account and other account holders maymerely have access to the account. Generally, the multiple personshaving an association with related accounts may be viewed as forming afinancial network.

In existing financial systems, co-account holders are generally providedwith the same interface and do not have the ability to interact with oneanother or to jointly and interactively plan to meet financial goals.Furthermore, any available financial planning tools fail to consider theactions and plans of co-account holders.

Given the increased availability of electronic resources, such asfinancial institution web sites that are available to account holdersover the Internet, it is now possible to provide account holders with areal time display of account activity as well as available accountoptions. Although financial institutions have increased the availabilityof resources to account holders, these resources remain uniform withoutregard for individual account holder behaviors, relationships, andpreferences.

Accordingly, a solution is needed that leverages data available tofinancial institutions for each account holder in order to providevaluable up-to-date information about accounts and financialrelationships to each account holder in an efficient manner.Furthermore, a solution is needed that provides a main account holderwith leverage to control access by other account holders in a systematicmanner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the invention, a computer-implemented interactiveaccount management system is operated in cooperation with a financialinstitution on behalf of multiple account holders. The interactiveaccount management system includes a financial networking engineimplemented by a processor for defining a financial network for eachaccount holder and for identifying each member of an account holderfinancial network based on stored account information and account holderinput, wherein members of the account holder financial network includethe account holder and at least one of a co-account holder, a familymember, and a financial advisor. The system additionally includesinteractive processing components for processing information to providecollaborative interaction between the members of the account holderfinancial network defined by the financial networking engine, thecollaborative interaction including financial guidance for the accountholder and the co-account holder and goal-related review between accountholders. The system additionally includes user interface presentationtools for displaying financial guidance and collaborative interactioninterfaces and inviting active participation from the financial networkmembers as determined by the financial networking components, the userinterface presentation tools accepting input from the financial networkmembers and correspondingly displaying output as determined by theinteractive processing components.

In an additional aspect of the invention, a computer-implementedinteractive account management method is operated in cooperation with afinancial institution on behalf of multiple account holders. Theinteractive account management method includes defining a financialnetwork for each account holder and identifying each member of anaccount holder financial network based on stored account information andaccount holder input. Members of the account holder financial networkinclude the account holder and at least one of a co-account holder and afinancial advisor. The method additionally includes processing storedand input information with interactive processing components to providecollaborative interaction between the members of the defined accountholder financial network. The collaborative interaction includesfinancial guidance for the account holder and the co-account holder andgoal-related review between account holders. The method additionallyincludes displaying financial guidance and collaborative interactioninterfaces, thereby inviting active participation and accepting inputfrom the financial network members and correspondingly displaying outputas determined by the interactive processing components.

In yet a further aspect of the invention, a computer-implementedinteractive account management system is operated in cooperation with afinancial institution on behalf of multiple account holders. Theinteractive account management system comprises at least one computingsystem including a processor implementing stored instructions to performmultiple steps. The steps include defining a financial network for eachaccount holder and identifying each member of an account holderfinancial network based on stored account information and account holderinput, wherein members of the account holder financial network includethe account holder and at least one of a co-account holder and afinancial advisor. The steps further include processing stored and inputinformation with interactive processing components to providecollaborative interaction between the members of the defined accountholder financial network, the collaborative interaction includingfinancial guidance for the account holder and the co-account holder andgoal-related review between account holders. The steps additionallyinclude displaying financial guidance and collaborative interactioninterfaces, thereby inviting active participation from the financialnetwork members, and accepting input from the financial network membersand correspondingly displaying output as determined by the interactiveprocessing components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is described in detail below with reference to theattached drawings figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an operating environment for aninteractive account management system in accordance with an embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary financial network inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating another exemplary financialnetwork in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating another exemplary financialnetwork in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an interactive account managementsystem in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a computing system implementingan interactive account management system in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a user interface providing permission settings to anaccount holder in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a user interface providing account holder calculationassistance in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates a user interface for evaluating and improving creditscores in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 illustrates a user interface for financial networking inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 illustrates a comparative purchasing scenario interface inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 illustrates user interfaces for collaborative review inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 illustrates a relationship link user interface in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing aninteractive account interface in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a method and systemfor providing interactive financial guidance that enables an accountholder to interact with co-account holders or family members, a creditcard issuing company, a financial advisor, or other relevant entities tomake financial decisions and share financial information. The method andsystem have particular application for financial accounts, such ascredit card accounts, mortgage accounts, checking accounts, and othertypes of financial accounts.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an operating environment for aninteractive account management system 100 in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

The environment illustrates multiple entities connected over a network10. In addition to the interactive account management system 100, theentities may include a financial institution system 50, credit reportingagency systems 30, merchant systems 40, and account holder systems 20 a. . . 20 n. The interactive account management system 100 may access adatabase 70 and the financial institution system 50 may access adatabase 60.

As illustrated, the interactive account management system 100 may accessa database 70 and may store data in and retrieve data from the database70. The database 70 may include data, stored account settings, storedrules, and other information. In embodiments of the invention, theaccounts managed by the interactive account management system 100 may beassociated with a card, such as a credit card, a debit card, a storedvalue card, or other type of card. Alternatively or additionally, themanaged accounts may be mortgage accounts, checking accounts, or othertypes of accounts. The interactive account management system 100 managesnot only accounts, but relationships between individual account holdersas will be further discussed below.

One or more card issuers or financial institution systems 50 may also beconnected with the interactive account management system 100 over thenetwork 10. While the interactive account management system 100 mayoperate in cooperation with a single financial institution 50, it mayalso operate in cooperation with multiple financial institutions 50. Thefinancial institutions 50 may access account information 60 that may bestored for each account holder at the financial institution 50.

Account holder systems 20 a . . . 20 n may be connected over the network10 with the interactive account management system 100. Additionally,merchants 40 and credit reporting agencies 30 may be connected with oneanother over the network 10.

Although illustrated as separate systems, in embodiments of theinvention, the interactive account management system 100 and the cardissuer or financial institution system 50 may be integrated so as toform a unitary system.

The network 10 may for example include the Internet. Although thevarious systems are shown as connected over one network, they mayinstead be connected over multiple networks.

The financial institution system 50 typically provides the accountholder systems 20 a . . . 20 n with account information when requested.In the illustrated environment, the financial institution system 50 maycooperate with the interactive account management system 100 in order toprovide the account information. The financial institution system 50typically also provides monthly or other periodic statements to theaccount holder systems 20 a . . . 20 n, provides payment information tomerchants 40, and receives payment requests from merchants 40.

The financial institution system 50 and interactive account managementsystem 100 may further receive information over the network 10 fromcredit reporting agencies 30. This information may be used to provideadvice and guidance to account holder systems 20 a . . . 20 n as will befurther explained below.

Merchant systems 40 may include online shopping systems accessible viathe network 10 or another network. The merchant systems 40 may furtherbe connected to POS devices in retail environments. In the illustratedenvironment, the interactive account management system 100 is capable ofcollecting information from and distributing information to merchantsystems 40.

All of the aforementioned systems are computing systems with processingcomponents and are connected over the network. The computing systems maybe any of the known types of computing systems as will be furtherdescribed below.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary financial network200 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. A main accountholder 220 may establish a financial account 210 and may communicatewith the entity sponsoring the financial account 210 over the network10. Other account holders 222, 224, and 226 may also have access to thefinancial account 210, but the access may be limited. In embodiments ofthe invention, the access is limited by the main account holder 220.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating another exemplary financialnetwork 300 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. A creditaccount holder/co-mortgage holder 330 accesses both a credit account 310and a mortgage account 320. A co-mortgage holder 340 accesses themortgage account 340.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating another exemplary financialnetwork 400 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. A mainaccount holder 412 may access a small business credit account 410. Otheraccount holders 414 and 416 may also access the small business creditaccount 410. One of the other account holders 414 may also access acredit account 420 in conjunction with a co-credit account holder 422.Account holder 416 may access a mortgage account 430 in conjunction withco-mortgage account holder 432. The diagram is simplified to deletevarious components. However, in embodiments of the invention, theaccount holders illustrated access the accounts over a network such asthe network 10 described above in conjunction with FIG. 1.

The embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 should be viewed asmerely exemplary. Financial networks in accordance with embodiments ofthe invention may be defined by individual account holders to includeany other person the account holder chooses to include. In embodimentsof the invention, permissions and membership are reciprocal and thus aremutually agreed upon.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an interactive account managementsystem in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Componentsincluding a financial networking engine 510, interactive processingcomponents 530, and user interface presentation tools 520 may interactwith one another to provide interactive interfaces for participants infinancial networks.

The financial networking engine 510 may operate to determine members ofa financial network and establish relationships based on stored data andinput data. The members of a financial network typically includeco-account holders, but may also include invited account holders andfinancial advisors. The financial advisors may be human financialadvisors interacting with the account holders and other financialnetwork members, or may alternatively be computerized financial advisingprograms immediately responsive to the needs of account holders.

The interactive processing components 530 may include comparativepurchasing components 532, calculation assistance components 534,permission settings 540, networking components 542, interactive creditscore monitoring tools 550, collaborative review components 552, andlinking components 560. Each of these components provides content for aninteractive interface for members of financial networks as defined bythe financial networking engine 500. Representative user interfacescontaining the content are illustrated in FIGS. 7-12 and are furtherdescribed in detail below. Collectively, these interactive processingcomponents 530 help financial network members to achieve financial goalsand make intelligent financial decisions.

Although the aforementioned components are shown as discrete modules,each of the modules may alternatively be integrated with one another. Ifthe modules are discrete, multiple modules may operate cooperatively aswill be further explained below.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a computing system 600implementing an interactive account management system in accordance withan embodiment of the invention. The components shown in FIGS. 1-5 abovemay be or include a computer or multiple computers. Although thecomponents are shown as discrete units, all components may beinterconnected or combined. The components may be described in thegeneral context of computer-executable instructions, such as programmodules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modulesinclude routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc.that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may bepracticed with various computer system configurations, includinghand-held wireless devices such as mobile phones or PDAs, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The invention may alsobe practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through acommunications network. In a distributed computing environment, programmodules may be located in both local and remote computer storage mediaincluding memory storage devices.

The computer system 600 may include a general purpose computing devicein the form of a computer including a processing unit 610, a systemmemory 650, and a system bus 640 that couples various system componentsincluding the system memory 650 to the processing unit 610.

Computers typically include a variety of computer readable media thatcan form part of the system memory 650 and be read by the processingunit 610. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable mediamay comprise computer storage media and communication media. The systemmemory 650 may include computer storage media in the form of volatileand/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) 660 and randomaccess memory (RAM) 670. A basic input/output system (BIOS) 662,containing the basic routines that help to transfer information betweenelements, such as during start-up, is typically stored in ROM 660. RAM670 typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediatelyaccessible to and/or presently being operated on by processing unit. Thedata or program modules may include the illustrated interactive accountmanagement system 672, an operating system, application programs, otherprogram modules 676, and program data 680. The operating system may beor include a variety of operating systems such as Microsoft Windows®operating system, the Unix operating system, the Linux operating system,the Xenix operating system, the IBM AIX™ operating system, the HewlettPackard UX™ operating system, the Novell Netware™ operating system, theSun Microsystems Solaris™ operating system, the OS/2™ operating system,the BeOS™ operating system, the Macintosh™® operating system, theApache™ operating system, an OpenStep™ operating system or anotheroperating system of platform.

At a minimum, the memory 650 includes at least one set of instructionsthat is either permanently or temporarily stored. The processor 610executes the instructions that are stored in order to process data. Theset of instructions may include various instructions that perform aparticular task or tasks, such as those shown in the appended flowchartof FIG. 14. Such a set of instructions for performing a particular taskmay be characterized as a program, software program, software, engine,module, component, mechanism, or tool. The interactive accountmanagement system 500 as shown in FIG. 5, may include a plurality ofsoftware processing modules stored in a memory as described above andexecuted on one or more processors in the manner described herein. Theprogram modules may be in the form of any suitable programming language,which is converted to machine language or object code to allow theprocessor or processors to read the instructions. That is, written linesof programming code or source code, in a particular programminglanguage, may be converted to machine language using a compiler,assembler, or interpreter. The machine language may be binary codedmachine instructions specific to a particular computer.

Any suitable programming language may be used in accordance with thevarious embodiments of the invention. Illustratively, the programminglanguage used may include assembly language, Ada, APL, Basic, C, C++,COBOL, dBase, Forth, FORTRAN, Java, Modula-2, Pascal, Prolog, REXX,and/or JavaScript for example. Further, it is not necessary that asingle type of instruction or programming language be utilized inconjunction with the operation of the system and method of theinvention. Rather, any number of different programming languages may beutilized as is necessary or desirable.

Also, the instructions and/or data used in the practice of the inventionmay utilize any compression or encryption technique or algorithm, as maybe desired. An encryption module might be used to encrypt data. Further,files or other data may be decrypted using a suitable decryption module.

The computing environment may also include other removable/nonremovable,volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. For example, a hard diskdrive may read or write to nonremovable, nonvolatile magnetic media. Amagnetic disk drive may read from or writes to a removable, nonvolatilemagnetic disk, and an optical disk drive may read from or write to aremovable, nonvolatile optical disk such as a CD ROM or other opticalmedia. Other removable/nonremovable, volatile/nonvolatile computerstorage media that can be used in the exemplary operating environmentinclude, but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memorycards, digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM,solid state ROM, and the like. The storage media are typically connectedto the system bus through a removable or non-removable memory interface.

The processing unit 610 that executes commands and instructions may beor be located within a general purpose computer, but may utilize any ofa wide variety of other technologies including a special purposecomputer, a microcomputer, mini-computer, mainframe computer, programmedmicro-processor, micro-controller, peripheral integrated circuitelement, a CSIC (Customer Specific Integrated Circuit), ASIC(Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a logic circuit, a digitalsignal processor, a programmable logic device such as an FPGA (FieldProgrammable Gate Array), PLD (Programmable Logic Device), PLA(Programmable Logic Array), RFID processor, smart chip, or any otherdevice or arrangement of devices that is capable of implementing thesteps of the processes of the invention.

It should be appreciated that the processors and/or memories of thecomputer system need not be physically in the same location. Each of theprocessors and each of the memories used by the computer system may bein geographically distinct locations and be connected so as tocommunicate with each other in any suitable manner. Additionally, it isappreciated that each of the processor and/or memory may be composed ofdifferent physical pieces of equipment.

A user may enter commands and information into the computer through auser interface 630 that includes input devices such as a keyboard andpointing device, commonly referred to as a mouse, trackball or touchpad. Other input devices may include a microphone, joystick, game pad,satellite dish, scanner, voice recognition device, keyboard, touchscreen, toggle switch, pushbutton, or the like. These and other inputdevices are often connected to the processing unit 610 through a userinput interface that is coupled to the system bus 640, but may beconnected by other interface and bus structures, such as a parallelport, game port or a universal serial bus (USB).

One or more monitors or display devices may also be connected to thesystem bus via an interface 620. In addition to display devices,computers may also include other peripheral output devices, which may beconnected through an output peripheral interface. The computersimplementing the invention may operate in a networked environment usinglogical connections to one or more remote computers, the remotecomputers typically including many or all of the elements describedabove.

Various networks may be implemented in accordance with embodiments ofthe invention, including a wired or wireless local area network (LAN)and a wide area network (WAN), wireless personal area network (PAN) andother types of networks. When used in a LAN networking environment,computers may be connected to the LAN through a network interface oradapter 690. When used in a WAN networking environment, computerstypically include a modem or other communication mechanism. Modems maybe internal or external, and may be connected to the system bus via theuser-input interface, or other appropriate mechanism. Computers may beconnected over the Internet, an Intranet, Extranet, Ethernet, or anyother system that provides communications. Some suitable communicationsprotocols may include TCP/IP, UDP, or OSI for example. For wirelesscommunications, communications protocols may include Bluetooth, Zigbee,IrDa or other suitable protocol. Furthermore, components of the systemmay communicate through a combination of wired or wireless paths.

Although many other internal components of the computer are not shown,those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that such componentsand the interconnections are well known. Accordingly, additional detailsconcerning the internal construction of the computer need not bedisclosed in connection with the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a user interface 700 displaying permission settings.Content for the permissions setting user interface 700 may be providedby permission setting components 540 of FIG. 5 to an account holder inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Permission settings areparticularly useful in a financial network such as that shown in FIG. 2in which a main account holder authorizes multiple other account holdersto perform various actions or view various account features. Sucharrangements are common, for example, in families and in smallbusinesses.

The permissions user interface 700 is a centralized graphical interfacefor managing multiple users. The permission interface provides a groupof interactive information elements which users can set up toincorporate relevant data streams within the account statements and webpages. The data streams can range from RSS (Really Simple Syndication)feeds for financial news to other account data for small businesses, topurchase requisition queues needing review and approval.

As illustrated, permissions 710 may be accessed by a drop down menu andfurther menus may be provided for regulating spending locations 720,categories 730, statement access 740, spending limits 750, andcategorical thresholds 760.

The spending locations 720 may be determined for a particular accountholder at 722 and for a location as defined by zip code 724 and radius726. Furthermore, the spending categories 730 may also be defined for aparticular individual at 732. Multiple category menus 734, 736, and 738may be provided. Categories may for example include dining,entertainment, home improvement, apparel, etc. In embodiments of theinvention, a receipt collector, such as that disclosed in co-pendingpatent application Ser. No. 11/952,457 filed on Dec. 7, 2007 may beimplemented to keep track of category spending.

Regulation of statement access 740 may be performed for each individualat 742. For example, statement access may provide full viewing, variouspartial viewing modes, or no viewing available at 744. Statement accessmay further involve full editing, various forms of partial editing, orno editing privileges at 746.

The spending limit 750 may be set for various individuals at 752. Thelimit may apply for a particular duration 754. Rollover credits may beapplied at 756 to increase a spending limit for a payment cycle. Aspending range is shown at 758.

Categorical thresholds 760 may apply a combination of factors to limitspending in particular categories. The spending may be limited for aparticular individual at 762 for a specific duration 764 in a particularcategory 766. A threshold range may be shown at 768.

Thus, the permission user interface 700 provides a centralized forum foraccount holder interactions and simplifies set up for a primary accountholder. For the financial institution, the permission user interface 700reduces call center calls and helps to solidify family and businessaccount position. Overall, the permission user interface 700 allows amain or primary account holder or other individual to control theaccount experience for other account holders.

FIG. 8 illustrates a borrowing calculator user interface 800 providingaccount holder calculation assistance in accordance with an embodimentof the invention. The content of the borrowing calculator user interface800 may be formulated by the calculation assistance components 544 ofFIG. 5. The borrowing calculator interface 800 may be a real-timedynamic and graphical payment tool that enables better paymentdecisions, card use and borrowing. The borrowing calculator interface800 allows user to envision the intangible and compare scenarios forpaying down balances. The borrowing calculator interface 800 simplifiespayment for individual purchasers.

In FIG. 8, the borrowing calculator interface 800 shows a particularscenario involving a payment amount and frequency 810 and spendingamount and frequency 820. These items are selectable from multipleoptions in accordance with embodiments of the invention. A graph 850visually illustrates spending and payment for a selected time period.Additionally, loan balance and progress in paying off the loan may beillustrated with chart 860. The interface 800 may further provide anindication at 830 of when the debt will be paid, given a specificpayment plan. Furthermore, a snapshot into the loan at a particularpoint in time may be provided by selectable items 840 and 870. Thus, theborrowing calculator interface 800 can function as an automatedfinancial advisor with respect to a given loan.

For the account holder, the borrowing calculator interface 800 providesincreased confidence and control. For the financial institution, theborrowing calculator interface 800 provides assurances that paying downlarge balances is understood by account holders. The transparency of theborrowing calculator instills trust and thus fosters customer loyalty.The borrowing calculator functionality also gives context specificopportunities to present lending products.

FIG. 9 illustrates a credit score user interface 900 for evaluating andimproving credit scores in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. The content of the credit score user interface 900 may beprovided by the interactive credit score monitoring tools 550 of FIG. 5.The credit score user interface 900 provides a credit score visualizerfor allowing account holders to view their scores and recommendations toimprove their scores. The credit score visualizer interface 900 aims todemystify credit scores, such as FICO scores. Account holders wanting topurchase a home will be able to manage their credit score and optimizetheir interest rates.

The credit score user interface 900 may include credit scores formultiple account holders 910 and 950 and these account holders may viewthe credit score visualizer user interface 900 from their own respectivecomputing system. In embodiments of the invention, the credit score userinterface 900 will highlight the information relevant to a particularviewer, but may additionally display information relevant to all accountholders of a given account or other members of a financial networkholding different accounts. Graphs 920 and 940 may be shown for accountholder's credit scores over time. Additional information 930 may providean explanation for the credit score. Selectable options such as animprove option 964, a home buying option 968, and a goal setting option970 may also be provided. A recommended tools option 960 may switchbetween thresholds and the borrowing calculator options 962.

The credit score visualizer interface 900 provides a tool forfacilitating viewing and understanding of credit scores. The creditscore visualizer interface 900 allows account holders to understand thelink between behavior and score. In embodiments of the invention, thecredit score visualizer interface 900 incorporates goals and advice fromthe financial institution. For account holders, the credit scorevisualizer interface helps predict implications of future behavior andhelps users set goals. The credit score visualizer interface 900 furthermarks progress and enables account holders to remain aware of progress.Thus, the account holders become more involved and are more easily ableto plan, giving account holders confidence and improving theirsituation. For the financial institution, providing the credit scorevisualizer interface 900 assists its account holders with financialhealth and discourages irresponsible borrowing and bad debt.Furthermore, the transparency instills trust and fosters customerloyalty.

FIG. 10 illustrates a financial networking feature 1000 in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. This financial networking feature1000 may be formulated by the networking components 542. Financialnetworking feature 1000 displays a menu 1010, addressee 1020, subject1030, and email message 1040. The email message 1040 offers a signupopportunity 1050 to the addressee.

The financial networking feature 1000 promotes comingling informationand sharing. The displayed financial networking message is an invitationfrom Nora to her husband Nick. If he accepts the invitation, he willbecome part of Nora's financial network and thus will be able to sharewith her other features disclosed herein, such as the FICO score userinterface described above.

The financial networking feature 1000 thus functions as a request forothers to join an account holder's financial network. In embodiments ofthe invention, the financial networking feature is a system that allowsaccount holders to invite and accept connection invitations from otheraccount holders at the same financial institution.

For the accountholders, the financial networking feature 1000 allowsthem to quickly merge finances (e.g. couples and small businesspartners). The financial networking feature 1000 provides a tool forencouraging parties to be jointly invested in financial goals andassists with navigation of relationships.

For the financial institution, the financial networking feature 1000provides a tool for making connections to new and existing accountholders. It further provides a window into how and why account holdersinteract with one another and provides opportunities to facilitate otherpeer-to peer transactions.

FIG. 11 illustrates a comparative purchasing scenario interface 1100 inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. The content of thepurchase scenario interface 1100 may be produced by the comparativepurchasing components 532. The purchase scenario interface 1100 providesa tool for generating conversation around payment options. The purchasescenario interface 1100 provides an interactive tool for users toconsider large purchases, financing options, and payment scenarios.

The purchase scenario interface 1100 may include options such as aprefab scenario 1110 and an architect scenario 1120. The plans and notesmay be provided as shown at 1130 and 1140. Selectable details, actions,and preferences may also be provided. Furthermore, by selecting aparticular plan, an account holder may be able to focus upon and furtherdevelop the selected plan.

The purchase scenario interface 1100 allows for interactions with thirdparties and business parties and centralizes all discussion aroundscenario planning in one place. The purchase scenario interface 1100further gives account holders confidence that they are selecting themost appropriate option. For the account holder, the purchase scenariofeature 1100 improves confidence and financial situation and helps tonavigate relationships and maximize available time. For the financialinstitution, the purchase scenario interface 1100 provides theopportunity to highlight types of purchases that interest people. Thefinancial institution thus has the ability to point to tailored lendingproducts. The purchase scenario interface 1100 may be viewed by multiplemembers of a financial network and may also benefit from input from afinancial advisor member of the financial network.

FIG. 12 illustrates collaborative review user interfaces 1200 for use bymultiple financial network members in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention. The content of these user interfaces 1200 may becontrolled by the collaborative review components 552 of FIG. 5.

The collaborative review interfaces 1200 may include distinctinteractive screens for members of a financial network. John's screen1210 shows John's financial information including recent transactions1230 as well as information relevant to Jane 1240 that is transmittedfrom Jane or to Jane. Jane's screen 1220, likewise shows information1250 from John.

The collaborative review interface 1200 may include review penfunctionality that provides a conversation tool to allow discussion ofaccounts with other users and with the financial institution. The reviewpen offers the opportunity to highlight transactions for family membersand business partners to review and act upon. The review pen may furtherallow annotation of transactions.

The collaborative review interface 1200 benefits account holders becauseit allows visibility and interaction for compartmentalized couples. Itfurther allows for interactions with third parties and business parties.The collaborative review interface 1200 highlights types of transactionsof greatest interest to account holders. For example, the collaborativereview interface 1200 may highlight transactions involving greater than$400. Furthermore, the collaborative review interface 1200 functionalitycan point to the ability to add specialized offers (e.g., fraud, review,dispute resolution, specialized lending products).

FIG. 13 illustrates a relationship link user interface 1300 inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. The content of therelationship link user interface 1300 may be created by the linkingcomponents 560 of FIG. 5. The relationship link user interface 1300 mayprovide an interactive way to establish connection with other eligiblefinancial network members, such as family members, financial advisors,or other financial institutions. Account holders can choose toselectively share one or more portions of their statement experience.

As illustrated, a credit score section 1310 may provide credit scoresfor the account holder 1312 and for a network member 1314. Informationon how to obtain improvement of credit scores may be obtained byselection of improve option 1316. A goals section 1320 may displayselected goals such as a new house 1322 or a trip to Thailand 1324.Goals may be added by selecting the add option 1326. A financial networksection 1330 may include a drop down menu 1332 for selection of membersas well as displayed icons 1334 of financial network members who mayinclude for example, family members and financial advisors.

The relationship link functionality allows for seamless sharing ofinformation and provides a common window into multiple relationships.Furthermore, for the financial institution, the relationship linkprovides a technique to acquire new relationships based on existingaccount holders and allows for value-added integration across a lines ofbusiness.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing aninteractive account interface in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. The method begins in S1400. The interactive accountrelationship management system receives a user login in S1402. In S1404,through the financial networking engine, the system retrieves financialnetwork information stored for the logged in account holder. In S1406,the system provides an interface built based upon the user's financialnetwork. In 51408, the system receives a selection. If the selectioninvites participation from another network member in S1410, the networkmember is notified in S1412. If the system does not require aninvitation, the requested function is performed in S1414 and the methodends in S1420.

Of course other methods may also be performed with the system of theinvention in accordance with all of the functionality described herein.Thus, embodiments of the invention relate to a method and system forproviding interactive financial guidance that enable an account holderto interact with co-account holders or family members, a credit cardissuing company, a financial advisor, or other relevant entities to makefinancial decisions and share financial information. The method andsystem have particular application for financial accounts, such ascredit card accounts, mortgage accounts, checking accounts, and othertypes of financial accounts

While particular embodiments of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed in detail herein, it should be understood that various changesand modifications might be made to the invention without departing fromthe scope and intent of the invention.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all the ends and objects set forth above, togetherwith other advantages, which are obvious and inherent to the system andmethod. It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinationsare of utility and may be employed without reference to other featuresand sub-combinations. This is contemplated and within the scope of theappended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented interactive accountmanagement system operated in cooperation with a financial institutionon behalf of multiple account holders, the interactive accountmanagement system comprising: at least one computer storage mediumstoring data and instructions; at least one computer processor accessingthe stored data and instructions and executing the instructions toperform steps including; providing the multiple account holders anaccount holder invitation interface for sending an invitation to otheraccount holders to join an existing personal financial network; sendingan invitation from the multiple account holders to other account holdersto join the existing personal financial network; incorporating eachaccount holder accepting the invitation into the existing personalfinancial network, thereby expanding the existing personal financialnetwork for each account holder that sent the invitation, each personalfinancial network including at least two co-account holders of afinancial account; identifying each member of the personal financialnetwork based on stored account information and account holder input;processing information to provide collaborative interaction between themembers of the personal financial network defined by the account holdersusing the account holder invitation interface; and displayingcollaborative interaction interfaces and inviting active participationfrom the financial network members, wherein the collaborativeinteraction interfaces include a collaborative review interface enablingeach personal financial network member to highlight financialtransactions for other personal financial network members to review andact upon; accepting input from the personal financial network membersand processing the input to correspondingly display output.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising interactive processing componentscomprise including permission setting components for allowing a primaryaccount holder to set permissions for other account holders.
 3. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein the permission setting components regulate atleast one of spending location, spending category, and statement accessfor the other account holders.
 4. The system of claim 2, wherein theinteractive processing components comprise interactive credit scoremonitoring tools for facilitating credit score monitoring for at leasttwo members of the financial network.
 5. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising interactive processing components including comparativepurchasing components for linking the account holder with financialadvice regarding purchasing scenarios.
 6. The system of claim 5, whereinthe comparative purchasing components are linked to calculationassistance components for assisting the account holder withunderstanding repayment scenarios.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein theaccount holder personal financial network includes the account holder, aco-account holder for one account, and a secondary account holder foranother account.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the account holderpersonal financial network includes the account holder, a co-accountholder, and a financial advisor.
 9. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising interactive processing components including permissionsetting components for allowing a multiple account holders to setreciprocal permissions for potential personal financial network members.10. A computer-implemented interactive account management methodoperated in cooperation with a financial institution on behalf ofmultiple account holders, the interactive account management methodcomprising: storing data and instructions in at least at least onecomputer storage medium; accessing the stored data and instructions andexecuting the instructions with at least one computer processor toperform steps including; providing the multiple account holders anaccount holder invitation interface for sending an invitation to otheraccount holders to join an existing personal financial network; sendingan invitation from the multiple account holders to other account holdersto join the existing personal financial network; incorporating eachaccount holder accepting the invitation into the existing personalfinancial network, thereby expanding the existing personal financialnetwork for each account holder that sent the invitation, each personalfinancial network including at least two co-account holders of afinancial account; identifying each member of the personal financialnetwork based on stored account information and account holder input;processing information to provide collaborative interaction between themembers of the personal financial network defined by the account holdersusing the account holder invitation interface; and displayingcollaborative interaction interfaces and inviting active participationfrom the financial network members, wherein the collaborativeinteraction interfaces include a collaborative review interface enablingeach personal financial network member to highlight financialtransactions for other personal financial network members to review andact upon; accepting input from the personal financial network membersand processing the input to correspondingly display output.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, further comprising providing permission settingcomponents for allowing a primary account holder to set permissions forother account holders.
 12. The method of claim 10, further comprisingregulating at least one of spending location, spending category, andstatement access for the other account holders with the permissionsetting components.
 13. The method of claim 10, further comprisingfacilitating credit score monitoring for at least two members of thepersonal financial network by providing interactive credit scoremonitoring tools.
 14. The method of claim 10, further comprising linkingthe account holder with financial advice regarding purchasing scenariosby implementing comparative purchasing components.
 15. The method ofclaim 14, further comprising linking the comparative purchasingcomponents to calculation assistance components for assisting theaccount holder with understanding repayment scenarios.
 16. The method ofclaim 10, further comprising defining the account holder personalfinancial network as including the account holder, a co-account holderfor one account, and a secondary account holder for another account. 17.The method of claim 10, further comprising defining the account holderpersonal financial network as including the account holder, a co-accountholder, and a financial advisor.
 18. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising providing interactive processing components comprisepermission setting components for allowing a primary account holder toset permissions for other account holders.
 19. The method of claim 10,wherein members of the account holder personal financial network includethe account holder and at least one of a co-account holder and afinancial advisor.